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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/21/2014 11:56:36 PM

Toll rises to 13 in killer NY state snowstorm

AFP

Wochit
New Dangers: Falling Roofs and Flooding After Epic Storm

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New York (AFP) - The death toll rose to 13 Friday from a killer snowstorm in western New York state where rising temperatures and heavy rain will compound misery by causing severe flooding into next week.

Blizzards dumped a year's supply of snow in just days south of Buffalo city, bringing down 30 buildings, imperiling mobile homes and paralyzing communities.

Erie County chief executive Mark Poloncarz said 13 people had died and warned that further deaths could not be ruled out as rescue workers continue to dig out vehicles trapped in the snow.

The latest fatalities were two elderly people who died during and immediately after being evacuated from a nursing home, and a 50-year-old man found dead in his vehicle.

The National Weather Service says "lake effect snow," created when frigid air moves over warm lake waters, remains a risk until noon but that only a few more inches are expected to fall Friday.

New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state thruway would reopen in parts to essential travel from 3:00 pm but warned against unnecessary journeys as conditions remain perilous.

The improving weather would also allow for the massive snow removal effort to quicken pace, with the National Guard bringing in extra people and the arrival of additional equipment.

Cuomo, who has declared a state of emergency, said he had spoken to the White House on Thursday and said President Barack Obama sent his best wishes and that a full damages assessment could yet prompt a federal disaster declaration.

"It's a matter of life and death literally," said Cuomo.

- Worse than blizzard of 1977-

Poloncarz described "Winter Storm Knife" as one of the worst he could remember and said the worst-hit areas had been affected more than during the deadly blizzard of 1977.

"In the areas worst impacted it was worse than 1977 but it did not hit the entire community as did in 1977," he told reporters.

"Now we have to be prepared for the flooding. There will be flooding in all likelihood starting on Sunday," he said.

The flood risk will remain until Tuesday with some areas set to receive five to six feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) of water in a very short period of time, he warned.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said 1,600 trucks have already carted 32,000 tons of snow out of south Buffalo.

"We're asking people in the areas that may experience flooding to remove items from your basement," he told a news conference with Cuomo and Poloncarz.

The National Weather Service warned of severe winter driving conditions with very low visibility and deep snow cover on roads.

The state of emergency has forced the National Football League to relocate Sunday's game between the local Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets from Buffalo to Detroit.

The rock band Interpol said they were stranded more than 50 hours on their tour bus by the storm and then stuck in Buffalo, forcing them to cancel concerts in Montreal, Toronto and Boston.




"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/22/2014 10:31:20 AM

Angry Mexicans protest over 43 missing students

Associated Press

Protests All Over Mexico to Seek Justice for 43 Missing Students


MEXICO CITY (AP) — A largely peaceful march by tens of thousands demanding the return of 43 missing students ended in violence, as a small group of masked protesters battled police in Mexico City's main square.

The march late Thursday sought the return of the students from a rural teachers' college. Nov. 20 is usually a day reserved for the celebration of Mexico's 1910-17 Revolution, but Mexicans were in no mood for celebrations.

Many of the marchers carried "mourning" flags with Mexico's red and green national colors substituted by black stripes.

"The entire country is outraged," said housewife Nora Jaime. "It is not just them," she added, referring to the 43 young men who haven't been seen since being attacked by police in a southern city Sept. 26. "There are thousands of disappeared, thousands of clandestine graves, thousands of mothers who don't know where their children are."

The march in Mexico City was mostly peaceful, in contrast to recent protests that have ended with the burning of government buildings in Guerrero state, where the students disappeared. Whenever masked protesters tried to join Thursday's march, demonstrators shouted them down with chants of "No violence!" and "Off with the masks!"

The protesters converged on the city's main square, where families of the missing students stood on a platform in front of the National Palace holding posters of their relatives' faces. Amid chants for President Enrique Pena Nieto to step down, family members repeated that they do not believe the government's account that the youths were killed by a drug gang,

"We're not tired," said one man speaking from the platform. "On the contrary, we are mad at this Mexican government and its entire structure, because it has not done anything but deceive the families."

After most of the protesters left the square, a small group of masked youths began battling police with rocks and sticks. Police responded with fire extinguishers to put out fires set by the youths.

Police charged across the square to drive the protesters out. At least three news photographers, including one from The Associated Press, were injured by police, who took AP camera equipment worth $15,000.

The other two photographers, from the magazine Proceso and the agency Cuartoscuro, were hospitalized. Eduardo Miranda of Proceso suffered a broken tibia from a metal object he said was thrown by federal police.

The interior ministry, which overseas federal police, did not immediately comment on the attacks on journalists.

Earlier in the day, about 200 youthful protesters, some with their faces covered by masks or bandanas, clashed with police as they tried to block a main expressway to the international airport. Protesters hurled rocks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at the police, at least one of whom was hit by the projectiles. Some passengers had to walk to the terminal, but flights were not interrupted and expressways were reopened.

Many average people, outraged by the disappearances of the students, turned out for the march despite cool weather and some light rain.

Maria Antonieta Lugo was part of a group of housewives who joined the march "because we have children of the same age" as the missing students, who ranged from their teens to their 20s. "This could happen to our children as well," she said.

Maria Teresa Perez held up a poster with a picture of her son, Jesus Horta Perez, 45, who was kidnapped by armed men from a storefront in a Mexico City suburb in 2009 and has never been heard from again.

"They are shouting about 43, but they should be counting in the thousands, because apart from these 43, there are 33,000 disappeared," Perez said.

Mexico officially lists 22,322 people as having gone missing since the start of the country's drug war in 2006. And the search for the missing students has turned up other, unrelated mass graves.

The 43 students, who attended a radical rural teachers college known as Ayotzinapa, disappeared after they went to the Guerrero city of Iguala to hijack buses. Iguala police intercepted them on the mayor's orders and turned them over to the criminal group Guerreros Unidos, a gang with ties to the mayor, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors say there is evidence the gang members killed the students and incinerated their remains.

It is that link between a local government and drug gang that disgusts many Mexicans.

"I think the reason people are here today is not just Ayotzinapa," said one protester, Alejandro Gonzalez, who studied industrial design in Pachuca. "I think that today, more than ever ... people are realizing the political structures are rotten, useless."


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/22/2014 10:40:20 AM

FBI arrests two would-be Ferguson bomb suspects: law enforcement source

Reuters


An activist artist pastes images, part of the #AllHandsOnDeck project by artist Damon Davis, on top of boarded-up businesses in Ferguson, Missouri November 19, 2014. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

By Daniel Wallis

FERGUSON Mo. (Reuters) - Two men suspected of buying explosives they planned to detonate during protests in Ferguson, Missouri, once a grand jury decides the Michael Brown case, were arrested on Friday and charged with federal firearms offenses, a law enforcement official told Reuters.

Word of the arrests, reported by a number of media outlets Friday, came ahead of the grand jury's widely anticipated decision on whether the white police officer who fatally shot Brown, an unarmed black teenager, should be indicted on criminal charges.

The Aug. 9 slaying of 18-year-old Brown under disputed circumstances became a flashpoint for U.S. racial tensions, triggering weeks of sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis suburb by demonstrators calling for officer Darren Wilson's arrest.

He was instead placed on administrative leave, and Ferguson has been bracing for a new wave of protests, especially if the grand jury chooses not to indict Wilson. An announcement was believed to be imminent.

Against this backdrop of heightened tensions, according to a law enforcement source, two men described as reputed members of a militant group called the New Black Panther Party, were arrested in the St. Louis area in an FBI sting operation.

As initially reported by CBS News, the men were suspected of acquiring explosives for pipe bombs that they planned to set off during protests in Ferguson, according to the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The official said the two men are the same pair named in a newly unsealed federal indictment returned on Nov. 19 charging Brandon Orlando Baldwin and Olajuwon Davis with purchasing two pistols from a firearms dealer under false pretenses.

Both men were arraigned on Friday in federal court, the law enforcement source said.

The FBI and other federal agencies were reported to have stepped up their presence in the St. Louis area in recent days in anticipation of renewed protests after the grand jury's decision in the Brown case is made known.

An FBI official in St. Louis declined to comment except to say that the two men named in the indictment had been arrested. Officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office for eastern Missouri were not immediately available for comment.

(Adds first name of officer Darren Wilson in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman)



"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/22/2014 10:48:16 AM

World War 3: Would Russia Win?

The U.S. is scrambling to catch up to Russia in the new nuclear arms race—just in case World War 3 really is on the horizon

If the world really is on the brink of World War 3, which country would come out on top? An expert said not that long ago that the U.S. would lose to Russia, and with all of Russia’s shows of military strength, it appears as if Moscow thinks they can win too. Even U.S. officials appear to be concerned that Russia has surpassed Washington in nuclear capabilities, according to Forbes contributor James Conca.

Russia versus U.S. in World War 3?

Russia has been aggressively spending money on developing tactical nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin said they aimed to develop a guaranteed deterrent to protect against NATO and the U.S. Moscow apparently thinks that its own tactical nuclear weapons are better than what the U.S. and NATO has.

Russia has 5,000 nuclear weapons of various tactical classes, while the U.S. has only 300 tactical B-61 bombs. Conca points out that the U.S. will be hard-pressed to catch up to Russia in the renewed nuclear arms race, as many of the nuclear missiles built during the Cold War have been destroyed. Also the U.S. created treaties limiting its ability to develop more nuclear weapons.

Favoring Russia?

Conca reports that the START 3 treaty that was put into place recently “was overwhelmingly favorable to Russia.” Moscow has built next-generation long-range cruise missiles and will soon deploy them onto Russian submarines in the Black Sea and Caspian Flotilla ships.

Russian officials revealed that they plan to send some of their long-range bombers over to the Gulf of Mexico “just for practice,” bringing them ominously close to the U.S. coast. Putin has accused the U.S. of fanning tensions that could lead to a new Cold War or possible World War 3, while the U.S. has accused him of the same. Conca believes that the Russians fear being seen as weak, and Russia has shown signs of being willing to use as much force as it takes to get what it wants.

Holes in U.S. nuclear plans

The author calls for U.S. officials to fix the problems that have erupted with the nation’s nuclear weapons program. For example, a B-52 bomber flew six stowaway cruise missiles that had nuclear tips across the country on accident. The crew didn’t even know they had the missiles, and no one even realized that they were missing.

Additionally, there have been numerous reports of low morale and gaps in training for U.S. troops charged with handling the nuclear weapons. U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel did make some comments today that suggest things could be about to change. He wants to increase nuclear funding by 10% each year in the next five years.

The Pentagon agreed to make some changes to the way the nuclear program is funded. However, this may be too little, too late, if Russia decides to strike sooner rather than later.


(valuewalk.com)



"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/22/2014 4:15:26 PM

Barack Obama broadens US Afghanistan mission

US officials confirm that troops will be authorised to target Taliban and provide air support for Afghan operations

  • theguardian.com,

US troops and Afghan police officers at the site of a suicide attack on the outskirts of Jalalabad on 13 November 2014. Photograph: PARWIZ/REUTERS

Barack Obama has quietly approved guidelines in recent weeks to allow the Pentagon to target Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, broadening previous plans that had limited the military to counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida after this year, US officials said.

The president’s decisions also allow the military to conduct air support for Afghan operations when needed, the officials said late on Friday. Obama issued the guidelines in recent weeks, as the American combat mission in Afghanistan draws to a close, thousands of troops return home, and the military prepares for narrower counterterrorism and training mission for the next two years.

Obama’s moves expand on what had been previously planned for next year. One US official said the military could only go after the Taliban if it posed a threat to American forces or provided direct support to al-Qaida, while the latter could be targeted more indiscriminately.

“To the extent that Taliban members directly threaten the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan or provide direct support to al-Qaida, however, we will take appropriate measures to keep Americans safe,” the official said.

The Taliban’s presence in Afghanistan far exceeds that of al-Qaida, adding significance to Obama’s authorisation. The president’s move came in response to requests from military commanders who wanted troops to be allowed to continue to battle the Taliban, the US officials said.

The New York Times first reported the new guidelines. Officials confirmed details to Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss Obama’s decisions by name.

The decision to expand the military’s authority does not affect the overall number of US troops that will remain in Afghanistan. Earlier this year. Obama ordered the American force presence to be cut to 9,800 by the end of this year, a figure expected to be cut in half by the end of 2015.

The president wants all US troops to be out of Afghanistan a year later, as his presidency draws to a close.

Some of the Obama administration’s planning for the post-2014 mission was slowed by a political stalemate in Afghanistan earlier this year. It took months for the winner of the country’s presidential election to be certified, delaying the signing of a bilateral security agreement that was necessary in order to keep US forces in the country after December.


(The Guardian)


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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